Decision

Charity Inquiry: New Wineskins Charitable Trust and U-Turn Move on Homes

Published 30 March 2026

Applies to England and Wales

The Charities and their relationship

New Wineskins Charitable Trust (‘NWCT’) – 1013750 was registered on 21 August 1992. It was governed by a Trust Deed dated 9 July 1992.

The charity had general charitable objects, but its primary charitable activity was to support men and women suffering from homelessness at a first stage rehabilitation recovery centre. NWCT is recorded as a removed charity on the Commission’s register of charities.  

U-Turn Move on Homes (‘UTMH’) – 1184318 was registered on 8 July 2019. It was governed by a Constitution adopted 22 December 2018, as amended 28 June 2019.

Its charitable object was to relieve the needs of people recovering from addiction issues who had successfully completed their rehabilitation. Its primary charitable activity was to support men and women who were at the second stage of their recovery process, by supporting them with necessary skills to manage their independent living in housing accommodation arranged by the charity. UTMH is recorded as a removed charity on the Commission’s register of charities.

Trustees

According to the Commission’s records, the following have served as trustees of the two charities below during the relevant period:

NWCT Trustees     

Trustee	Position	From	To
Trustee A	Trustee Chair of Trustees	12.3.2005 12.3.2011	8.11.2023 8.11.2023
Trustee B	Trustee	24.8.2008	8.11.2023
Trustee C	Trustee	24.8.2011	8.11.2023

UTMH Trustees      

Trustee	Position	From	To
Trustee C	Trustee Chair of Trustees	8.7.2019 8.7.2019	24.2.2025 24.2.2025
Trustee D	Trustee	8.7.2019	4.8.2025
Trustee E *	Trustee	27.11.2023	6.12.2024
Trustee F *	Trustee	8.7.2019	5.2.2024
Trustee G	Trustee	27.11.2023	3.11.2025
Trustee H	Trustee	30.11.2023	3.11.2025

*The inquiry was unable to engage with these trustees, and considers that they did not take an active role in the administration and governance of the charity and were not active trustees of the charity.

Both charities operated from the same premises and shared the same staff. The Commission identified from correspondence with trustees of the charities and during meetings held with them, that the UTMH was entirely funded by NWCT up to and until 8 November 2023 when NWCT ceased operating. Trustee C, Mark Doherty, acted as trustee of both charities, and trustee D, Jane Doherty, acted as the CEO of NWCT and as trustee of UTMH. Mr and Mrs Doherty are married, and Mrs Doherty is the daughter of trustee A of NWCT. Mr and Mrs Doherty maintained overall administration and management of both charities’ finances.

Background and Issues under Investigation

NWCT was placed into the Commission’s Double Defaulter Class Inquiry (‘DDCI’) under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’) on 25 July 2022, as it failed to submit its annual accounts, annual returns, and trustees’ annual reports (‘accounting information’) as required for the financial years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021. The DDCI deals with charities that are in default of their legal duty to file accounting information for two or more years in the last five years.

NWCT had also been persistently late in filing its accounting information for four out of five financial years, (for the financial years ending 31 March 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022). This demonstrated a repeated pattern of behaviour in failing to ensure that the charity’s statutory accounting information was filed on time.

On 12 December 2022 NWCT submitted the outstanding accounting information for the financial years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021, but the inquiry identified that the accounts did not contain all the required accounting information. The trustees’ annual reports for both periods contained insufficient detail to provide a clear picture of the charity’s activities, and only income and expenditure accounts were prepared, instead of the required SOFA (Statement of Financial Activities) format as recommended under the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) guidelines. The accounts also did not include a statement of assets and liabilities and were not independently examined as required. During the DDCI case, the charity defaulted again on its filing requirements and failed to submit its accounting information to the Commission for the financial year ending 31 March 2022 on time.

According to the accounts filed the financial years ending 2020 and 2021, the charity had income of £223,272.00 and £245,569.00 respectively. It is required under section 145 of the Act, that where a charity’s annual income is over £25,000, the trustees must arrange for an independent person or accountancy firm to carry out either an audit or an independent examination of their charity’s accounts. The charity never had an independent examination that complied with the Act regarding any of its submitted accounts.

The trustees were also in breach of the charity’s governing document, its Trust Deed dated 9 July 1992, regarding the requirement for the accounts to be audited annually by a qualified accountant. Additional governance concerns were also identified, such as the charity having no written records of meetings held.

The DDCI analysed the charity’s bank account statements covering the periods 31 March 2021 to 10 August 2022, and identified several debits made from the charity to trustees or to individuals who appeared to be related to one of the trustees. It was unclear at the time from the accounts submitted why such payments were made, whether they were made in accordance with the charity’s governing document and the law, or how the trustees managed the apparent conflicts of interests.

As a result of these regulatory concerns at NWCT, on 16 May 2023, the Commission opened a statutory inquiry under section 46 of the Act, into NWCT. On 9 November 2023, the Commission decided to extend the inquiry to include UTMH, due to the close links between the two charities, and identical concerns identified at both charities. These inquiries have been run jointly as a class inquiry.

The class inquiry into both charities examined the following:

• the extent to which the trustees have and are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance, and management of the charity, with particular regard to the management of the charity’s finances and the charity’s compliance with its statutory reporting obligations
• the extent to which any failing or weaknesses in the administration, governance and management of the charity identified during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

The class inquiry closed with the publication of this report.

Findings: NWCT

The extent to which the trustees complied with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance, and management of the charities’ finances, and compliance with statutory reporting obligations

Following the class inquiry’s examination of the charity’s accounts for the financial years ending 31 March 2020, 2021, and 2022 which were submitted in June 2023, and bank account statements covering the periods March 2021 and August 2022, it was identified that the trustees had failed to comply with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP). Since its registration none of its accounts were independently examined or audited. The charity failed to submit its accounting information for the financial year ending 31 March 2023.

The class inquiry also found that conflicts of interest were not given proper consideration or acted upon and resolved. During the financial year 2022, payments of £44,400 were made to trustee D, who was the charity’s CEO, the daughter of trustee A, and the spouse of trustee C. Rental payments of £20,900 were made to trustee A for the charity’s use of trustee A’s properties. The class inquiry was informed by the trustees that the rental payments charged to the charity by trustee A were below market rates. Payments of £13,100 were made to trustee B, and £7,900 made to trustee C. There was no evidence provided of any written agreements in place regarding these arrangements or minutes of meetings to demonstrate how the trustees had properly managed the conflicts of interest.

The class inquiry found that the trustees held written policies (that were also used by UTMH) regarding, Safeguarding - Management structure and Vulnerable Adults, Staff & Volunteer Assessment Roles, dated 2017 and 2018, respectively. There was no evidence found to show that the trustees had reviewed the policies since 2018.

There were no concerns identified regarding the service provision to the service users (its beneficiaries) during the class inquiry’s visits to the charity’s premises and meetings with trustees, staff, and service users.

On 8 November 2023 the trustees of NWCT decided at a meeting to cease its operations and wind up the charity. All activities previously conducted by NWCT, which included its operations and staff, were taken forward by UTMH. The trustees were unable to provide assurances to the inquiry as to the formal process undertaken in transferring the activities, staff and administration from NWCT to UTMH.

The trustees failed to take the steps necessary to dissolve the charity and have it removed from the register of charities. They also failed to submit final accounts, as required when a charity decides to wind up. The explanation for this failure by the trustees was that there were insufficient funds available to pay for an independent examination of the charity’s final accounts.

The extent to which any failing or weaknesses in the administration, governance and management of the charity identified during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

As set out above, the trustees failed to ensure the charity’s accounts were independently examined or audited, as required, failed to submit accounting information for the financial year ending 31 March 2023, and failed to properly manage conflicts of interests, which the Commission considered to be misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity by the trustees.

Findings: UTMH

The extent to which the trustees complied with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance, and management of the charities’ finances, and compliance with statutory reporting obligations

Failure to properly account for charity funds

Following the class inquiry’s analysis of the charity’s bank account statements covering the period from 1 April 2021 to 10 November 2023, it identified debits that totalled £34,217 made to trustees C and D.

Trustees C and D provided supporting evidence for only four debits totalling £1,349, which the class inquiry found to be satisfactory. For other debits totalling £26,598, they provided only verbal explanations, without providing any supporting evidence. There were no explanations or evidence provided regarding debits totalling £6,270. Verbal explanations alone do not comply with a trustee’s legal duty to keep accounting records, “which are sufficient to show and explain all the charity’s transactions”, and which contain “entries showing from day to day all sums of money received and expended by the charity, and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure takes place.”^{[footnote 1]}

The explanation received from trustees C and D regarding a proportion of these debits (totalling £14,162) related to the repayment of “loans” made from their personal bank account to support the charity with additional funds when the balance of the charity’s bank account was low. While the class inquiry saw evidence of credits made into the charity bank account from trustees C and D’s personal bank account, which give their explanations some credibility, the Commission would have expected the trustees to have kept a written record in accordance with the Act showing “the financial position of the charity” and the “liabilities of the charity.”^{[footnote 2]}

The explanation received from trustees C and D, for seven debits totalling £5,900 was that they were payroll payments to trustee D, made because they had “misunderstood the audit rules”, and some wages were paid to trustee D via NWCT’s bank account, and some via the UTMH’s account (for trustee D’s employment as CEO at NWCT) even though trustee D’s role was a trustee of UTMH, and not an employee. Any manipulation of payments from a charity at which an individual is not employed, does not meet a trustee’s duty to manage their charity’s resources responsibly. This is also a misapplication of charity funds.

The information from the analysis demonstrated how trustees C and D failed to manage the charity’s financial resources properly and responsibly. They appear to have arranged trustee D’s salary payments between the two charities so that some of trustee D’s salary wrongly came from UTMH. There were no written records to explain the trustees’ decision-making regarding the substantial debits made from the charity’s account to trustees C and D. They were given numerous opportunities to co-operate with the class inquiry, but they failed to provide full and frank disclosure, and /or explanations, regarding the charity’s financial liabilities. This is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity by trustees C and D.

Concerns regarding accounting information (and breach of governing document)

According to all three accounts filed since its inception, for the financial years ending (‘fye’) 31 March 2020, 2021, and 2022, the charity had income of £166,011, £240,861 and £218,988, respectively. Under section 145 of the Act, if the charity’s gross income in the year exceeds £25,000 in the accounts, they must be examined by an independent examiner or audited by a statutory auditor.

None of the accounts for the three reporting periods were independently examined or audited. At the meetings held with trustees in June and November 2024, trustee D informed the class inquiry that since the charity’s registration the trustees were never advised by the Commission to have the accounts independently examined following their submission. Trustee D added that they were unaware of their responsibilities and legal duties as a trustee in respect of the requirements when filing the charity’s accounting information.

The original trustees of the charity, which included trustees C and D, signed a trustee declaration form when the charity was registered with the Commission and declared in it that they were aware of their responsibilities to act as a trustee. Trustees C and D did not take reasonable steps to understand the legal requirements for the filing of accounting information, for example by reading relevant guidance or taking appropriate professional advice regarding their accounting responsibilities. The charity remained in default of its reporting obligations for the financial years ending 31 March 2023, and 2024 despite repeated requests by the class inquiry for them to be submitted.

Failure to have the charity’s accounts independently examined or audited, as required by section 145 of the Act, and failure to submit financial information to the Commission on time in line with statutory requirements is a breach of sections 163, 164 and 169 of the Act, is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. It may also be a criminal offence under section 173 of the Act.

For the same reasons as provided to the class inquiry above by the trustees of NWCT, regarding the provision of final accounts, the trustees informed the class inquiry that there were insufficient funds available to pay for an independent examination of the charity’s final accounts and these were not submitted. Trustees C and D also failed to take reasonable steps to assist in the dissolution of the charity or its removal from the register of charities.

The charity was also in breach of clause 27 of its governing document regarding its obligations to prepare and transmit its accounting information to the Commission in accordance with the Act. The breach of the charity’s governing document in this respect is also misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

Unauthorised personal benefit - unauthorised salary received

Trustee D continued to receive unauthorised salary payments following the closure of NWCT, while acting in her role as a trustee of UTMH. Under the charity’s governing document, no charity trustee or connected person may be employed by, or receive any remuneration from the charity, unless the payment is permitted under additional specific provisions. The class inquiry found that the trustees breached the governing document in this respect which is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

Failure to fully comply with Commission Directions and Orders and failure to cooperate with inquiry

On 12 April and 30 July 2024 the Commission issued Directions under section 47 of the Act to trustees C and D, requiring them to provide information relating to the submission of outstanding accounts, and to explain the circumstances in which the charity’s account was used to make payments to gambling organisations, but they failed to fully comply with the Directions.

Suspension Order issued – and failure to comply

On 18 November 2024 the class inquiry exercised its powers under section 76(3)(a) of the Act to suspend trustees C and D from acting as trustees, but they failed to comply with the Orders and continued to act in the administration of the charity during their suspension. Trustees C and D were expected to have arranged an appropriate handover of their duties to trustees, G and H, but failed to do so.

Failure to fully comply with Directions and Orders of the Commission within the deadline is misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity in accordance with section 76(1) of the Act. Trustees C and D were responsible for this misconduct and/or mismanagement.

The extent to which any failing or weaknesses in the administration, governance and management of the charity identified during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

Misappropriation and/or misapplication of charitable funds to gambling companies (and providing false or misleading information to the Commission)

The class inquiry identified that between December 2022 and May 2023, 150 payments totalling £3,956 were made from the charity’s (UTMH) bank account to various gambling organisations.

The class inquiry held meetings with trustees C and D in March and June 2024 and issued several written requests to obtain further details from them regarding the circumstances in which these payments were made and the actions taken by the trustees at the time. They informed the class inquiry that the charity’s computer equipment had been accessed by unauthorised person(s), and that payments to the gambling organisations were made during this unauthorised access. They admitted that there had been several unauthorised accesses that had not been identified by the trustees, and not enough attention was paid to the detail of the bank account statements.

Trustee C added that the charity’s computer equipment, phone, and charity card, which were in their custody, were left unsecured during the period when the unauthorised access occurred, allowing charitable funds to be put at undue risk and be misappropriated. The trustees confirmed that they undertook no reconciliation of the charity’s account during that period, which demonstrated poor financial controls and a failure to manage the charity’s finances responsibly.

Trustee C reported the matter to the charity’s bank, and conducted lengthy communications with the bank, which trustee C claimed resulted in the bank reimbursing some of the funds (£1,092) to the charity. However, evidence obtained by the class inquiry from one of the gambling companies confirmed that it was the gambling company (rather than the charity’s bank) that had returned the money to the charity’s bank account, which contradicted the explanation provided by trustee C. Trustees C and D did not report this matter to the Police, as they claimed that reporting it to the charity’s bank would be more effective at remedying the issue. Trustees C and D also failed to ensure that these matters were reported to the Commission at the relevant time as a serious incident (through a Report of a Serious Incident or “RSI”).

Trustee D claimed to have carried out an internal investigation and had produced an incident report about the unauthorised access of charitable funds at the time, but no documentation or evidence of their investigation was provided to the class inquiry, despite several requests for them to do so. The payments made from charitable funds to the gambling companies were clearly not in furtherance of the charity’s objects.

The class inquiry found that charitable funds of £3,956 were misappropriated and/or misapplied from the charity. Trustees C and D were either responsible or should have been aware of it, or failed to take reasonable steps to investigate it or report it appropriately. The class inquiry found that both failed to manage the charity’s finances responsibly and protect the charity’s finances from risk of harm.

The class inquiry acknowledges that trustees G and H, who joined the charity in November 2023, were not acting for the charity at the time these events occurred, and did not have any direct knowledge of the circumstances.

Removal and disqualification of trustees C and D

Following the suspension of trustees C and D on 18 November 2024 and based on the above evidence of misconduct and/or mismanagement, the class inquiry exercised its power under section 79(4) of the Act on 4 August 2025 to remove trustee D from the position of trustee. Consequently, trustee D is disqualified from acting as a trustee in any charity.

In addition, the class inquiry also exercised its powers under section 181A of the Act on 22 August 2025 to disqualify trustee C from the position of trustee for a period of 10 years. The Commission had considered removing trustee C from acting as a trustee under section 79(4) of the Act (consistent with trustee D), but trustee C resigned from their position as a trustee of the charity in February 2025, and the Commission therefore relied on the power available under section 181A of the Act.

Winding up of UTMH

Following regulatory action taken by the class inquiry against trustees C and D, it became clear that UTMH did not have a viable future and that the charity would cease its operation. The class inquiry made several attempts to meet with and assist trustees G and H to facilitate liaison between them and trustees C and D to ensure an orderly winding up of UTMH. However, this proved unsuccessful due to trustees C and D, who had been removed and disqualified as trustees at that time, not assisting trustees G and H in the winding up process of the charity in accordance with UTMH’s governing document. The Commission decided to proceed with the removal of UTMH from the register of charities under section 34 of the Act as the charity no longer operates.

Trustees C and D maintained significant control over the activities of the charity, including its finances, and did not properly engage or include trustees G and H in the charity’s operations following their appointment. The class inquiry understands that trustees G and H were unaware of the Commission’s significant regulatory concerns when they were appointed until the class inquiry engaged with them, and they were effectively trustees in name only. It is the Commission’s view that trustees G and H were not responsible for the misconduct and/or mismanagement identified within UTMH. The class inquiry considers that both individuals acted in good faith during their appointments and made reasonable efforts to assist the charity, and to engage and cooperate with the Commission during the class inquiry.

Conclusions

The Commission concluded that there was serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charities due to the poor financial management and governance by its trustees, principally trustees C and D. Together, they bear the primary responsibility for the various failures identified at the charities. Together, they failed to discharge their legal duties as trustees, including failing to manage the charity’s resources responsibly, and to keep the charities’ funds secure. They also failed to fully cooperate with the Commission during the class inquiry and failed to comply with the Commission’s orders which are enforceable as an Order of the High Court.

The Commission found that charitable funds had been misappropriated from the UTMH charity due to the conduct and failures by trustees C and D. The Commission has taken robust action to address its regulatory concerns and exercised its powers to hold those responsible to account.  

On 3 November 2025 both charities were removed from the register of charities under section 34(1)(b) of the Act, as they no longer operate.

Regulatory action taken

The class inquiry exercised its information gathering powers under section 47(a) and (b) of the Act on several occasions during the period to obtain information and documentation relevant for the purposes of the class inquiry from the trustees and a range of other parties; and under section 47(c) of the Act, to formally direct trustees to attend meetings.

On 18 November 2024 the class inquiry exercised its powers under section 76(3)(a) of the Act to suspend trustees C and D from acting as trustees. In February 2025, trustee C resigned as a trustee from the UTMH charity.

On 4 August 2025 the class inquiry exercised its powers under section 79(4) of the Act to remove trustee D from the position of trustee. This order came into effect on 19 September 2025. Consequently, trustee D is disqualified from acting as a trustee in any charity indefinitely.

On 22 August 2025 the class inquiry exercised its powers under section 181A of the Act to disqualify trustee C from the position of trustee for a period of 10 Years. This order came into effect on 3 October 2025.

The class inquiry exercised its powers under sections 54 and 56 of the Act, to share and receive information with other relevant public authorities under the Commission’s statutory information-sharing gateway.

On 3 November 2025 the class inquiry removed the charities from the register of charities under section 34(1)(b) of the Act to, as they no longer operate. They are recorded as removed charities on the Commission’s register of charities.

The class inquiry provided comprehensive regulatory advice and guidance about the trustees’ duty to file the charities’ annual documents, trustees’ responsibilities to wind up the charities, as well as supplemental advice and guidance throughout the class inquiry, when appropriate.

Issues for the wider sector

The abuse of charities for unlawful purposes is absolutely unacceptable. In instances where the Commission uncovers or has evidence to suggest that a civil or criminal offence may have been committed, we will share this information, through our statutory gateway, with the police and other law enforcement agencies.

Registered charities are required by law to provide annual returns and accounts to the Commission. The type of scrutiny required depends on the income and assets of the charity. Broadly speaking, an independent examination is needed if gross income is between £25,000 and £1 million and an audit is needed where the gross income exceeds £1 million. An audit will also be needed if total assets (before liabilities) exceed £3.26 million, and the charity’s gross income is more than £250,000. Further guidance and advice on accounting requirements can be found on GOV.UK

A decision to remove an institution from the register on the grounds that it no longer appears to be operating as a charity is not a decision reached lightly. However, the Commission also has a statutory obligation under section 34 of the Charities Act 2011 to remove from the register any institution which it no longer considers is a charity and any charity which has ceased to exist or does not operate

Charity trustees, employees, officers, agents or any other interested parties should cooperate with the Commission’s inquiry as requested. Obstruction of its investigation, for instance, by refusal or delay in providing information without good reason, or a lack of full and frank disclosure, may in itself be evidence of mismanagement in the administration of a charity. It’s your responsibility to show that you’ve complied with the Commission’s requests: rather than for the Commission to prove you have not. So, if partial, inadequate or no responses at all are received, the Commission may have to conclude that you haven’t discharged your legal duties and/or use it as evidence of your collective failure, incapacity or unwillingness to do so. The courts have made clear that they expect charity trustees to cooperate with the Commission irrespective of whether it uses its legal powers to request information.

Conflicts of interest are more likely when there are only a small number of trustees on the board, when trustees are closely related, or when the charity has dealings with organisations in which the trustees have interests. It is vital that trustees avoid becoming involved in situations in which their personal interests may be seen to conflict with their duties as trustees. The trustees should put in place policies and procedures to identify and manage such conflict. Further guidance and advice is available from our guidance on conflicts of interest.

Charity trustees are responsible for governing their charity and making decisions about how it should be run. Making decisions is one of the most important parts of the trustees’ role. Trustees can be confident about decision making if they understand their role and responsibilities, know how to make decisions effectively, are ready to be accountable to people with an interest in their charity, and follow the 7 principles that the courts have developed for reviewing decisions made by trustees.

Trustees must:

• act within their powers
• act in good faith and only in the interests of the charity
• make sure they are sufficiently informed
• take account of all relevant factors
• ignore any irrelevant factors
• manage conflicts of interest
• make decisions that are within the range of decisions that a reasonable trustee body could make

It is important that charity trustees apply these 7 principles when making significant or strategic decisions, such as those affecting the charity’s beneficiaries, assets or future direction.

Further information can be found in the Commission’s guidance:

The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3)

It’s your decision: charity trustees and decision making (CC27)

1. Charites Act 2011, s. 130 (1) and (2) (a) ↩

2. Charities Act 2011, s. 130 (1) (a), (2) (b) ↩